Best 4 Years?
by sincerelyH
Summary: College. The time you're turning over a new leaf, meeting new people, partying it up with said people, and going through classes with hangovers, right? Wrong. Club's a leech, roommate's a "loose" girl, and everyone seems to know you. Everyone.
1. Why Archery?

**Disclaimer: It's unfortunate, but I don't own Inuyasha. **

**Best 4 Years? **

**Ch. 1 – Why Archery?**

Kagome stepped out of her mom's minivan and exhaled, glad to be free from the confines of the vehicle. For the past two hours, her mom and grandpa prattled endlessly over anything related to college, ignoring the verdant scenery flying past as they drove out of the city.

Early on into the ride, Kagome's mom asked, "Think any of your T.A.s will be cute?

Her daughter shrugged. "I ho-"

"I remember my Calculus T.A. He was absolutely dreamy, and quite the charmer. I remember one time, during office hours…" she rambled on, eyes glazing over on her trip down memory lane.

Grandpa frowned at her from the passenger seat, and promptly turned around. Kagome's stomach sunk at the look in his eyes, which clearly stated lecture time.

"Now Kagome, you must be aware of the image you'll be presenting to everyone on campus. You don't want to be known as a "loose" girl," grandpa lectured, complete with the two finger motion of both hands to indicate "loose" stood for something else entirely.

His granddaughter could only stare, and managed to stammer, "Ji-Jii-chan! Of course I know that!"

She saw her mom's head nod from the driver's seat. "He has a point. You don't want to be associated with the population of whoreville."

"Agh, mama!" Kagome sunk her face into her hands. Sleeping around was high on her list of Things Not to Discuss with Family. She looked up and caught the dashboard's time before her shoulders hunched. Only 90 minutes to go.

Now, standing outside in the fresh air, she stretched out her back and looked around. The parking lot behind the horticulture building was only partially full. Parents milled around while their children headed for several tables set up on the lawn.

She began to head over, but stopped herself and quickly glanced at her reflection in the side of the car. She was dressed in a plain tee, jean shorts, and sneakers. There was nothing about her that stood out. She smiled at the thought, and walked to the check-in table.

"Good morning! Name please?" asked a tanned girl in sunglasses and a red shirt emblazoned with "Secretary".

"Kagome Higurashi."

She handed her a slip of paper, index card, and clip.

"Please report to the armory by 1. You'll be living in Goodyear 210. The paper has your room assignment, and where you'll be picking up your ID and keys." Tan Girl paused and looked up at Kagome. "Oh hey, I used to live there back in my freshman year! I've never seen you around before. Are you a freshman?"

"Yeah," replied Kagome uncertainly, not knowing if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"That's great. I hope you enjoy your first T-and-P! Where are you from?"

Kagome had no clue what a T-and-P, but it was the least of her concerns. She hesitated before answering. "Setagaya."

"You definitely won't have any problems seeing familiar faces around campus. Tons of students are from around Tokyo. Most people in archery are from Adachi, but don't worry, we're friendly," Tanned Girl said, beaming.

Kagome smiled back and thanked her. She walked away, feeling relieved and ecstatic. Though it was 8 in the morning, which was normally an inhumane hour to be awake in her eyes, she felt energized by that girl's words.

_Most people are from Adachi_.

That was exactly the reason why she chose Archery. She was deterred by the fact that training was two hours a day, three times a week and almost all Saturdays would be spent at competitions and exhibitions, but it was worth it. No one would know her.

**A/N:** Thank you for reading the first chapter! It's short, but I just wanted to give you a quick glimpse into Kagome's character. Up next, meeting the roommate!

Please review and feel free to suggest what you'd like to see Kagome and others experience in their college years!


	2. First Impressions Suck

**Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own Inuyasha.**

**Best 4 Years?**

**Ch. 2 – First Impressions Suck**

* * *

_Enjoy your first T-and-P!_

Kagome stumbled into her dorm and immediately collapsed onto her small bed. "Yeah, enjoy my ass."

Who knew T-and-P stood for Training and Practice? The better question: who knew so much of it went into an archery _club_? She snorted and closed her brown eyes wearily.

For the past 5 days, she went through an endless routine of club meetings, weight lifting, jogging, even more uplifting meetings, and repairing equipment used by the club. Ayumi, aka Tanned Girl, explained the training was to build the muscle and endurance needed to shoot.

This baffled Kagome. She had never worked so hard before in her life, and didn't understand why the hell one had to lift 20 pound weights and jog endlessly just to shoot a stick off a string. She only realized how heavy bows were yesterday when she finally received her set.

Apparently the veteran members didn't trust new students. Even less did they trust Kagome. She got so excited after receiving her bow that she let it slip it was her first time holding one. Hence, the unnecessarily long explanation on how to attach the string and stabilizer on her simple recurve bow.

Kagome rubbed her face wearily and kicked off her grass-stained sneakers. She rolled over her bed, covered in soft shades of blue and starfish, and looked out the window with a smile breaking her exhaustion.

Having lived in one of the world's largest cities for all her life, the amount of nature at her middle-of-nowhere school was relaxing. She loved looking out the sole window situated between the two beds and seeing the expanse of green lawn and trees that separated her quad of dorms from the next.

Her eyes closed contentedly and she smiled more. Tomorrow would be different. Students who were smart enough not to give their lives up to a club sport or team would arrive tomorrow. And with the influx of students, the executive committee announced at the end of T-and-P week. For the rest of semester, they would only meet three times a week to practice and Saturdays to perform or compete.

Kagome flashed her eyes open and raised herself up, looking at the empty bed across from hers. Her roommate would be here tomorrow. Finally, a friend! Someone she could hold a normal conversation with without it being about archery, opponent schools, or competitions.

She looked around her dorm and signed. So much for coming 5 days early to make everything look nice. Besides unpacking her suitcases and boxes the first day, she had been left so exhausted that she had done little else. The bland cream walls mocked her, and the dim light didn't help.

"Your roommate's going to be so impressed by all you've done to your side. You sure are an interesting girl," the walls echoed.

Kagome groaned and fell back onto her bed. On top of her regrets and sore muscles, now she was hearing things. But a few things were absolutely clear to her. She regretted archery, and she had to spruce things up to look normal.

...

"_I can't believe you Kagome!" "Oh my god, did you really?" "Run for it!"_

The door squeaked open. People whispered to each other.

A bejeweled hand nudged her and she shot up, blowing magazine cut-outs and tape into the air and onto the tan floor.

"Wha-who are you?" Kagome squeaked, frightened by the unexpected intrusion.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you! It looked like you were having a nightmare!"

Kagome blinked and sleepily rubbed her eyes. The blurred figure before her sharpened into a young woman with shoulder-length chestnut brown hair, hazel eyes rimmed with eyeliner, and tan skin, wearing a white Tama University tee. A pair of oversized sunglasses perched on top of her head.

She sucked in her breath and blushed. What a way to meet her roommate.

"Shit. No, no I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sleep in, I was planning on waking up early to finish decorating, since I started last night but stopped, and I guess I ended up sleeping in," she rambled while waving her hands.

Great. She sounded like an idiot.

The girl beamed and shook her head. "No, it's totally fine! You must've had a fun night." She winked at Kagome. "My name's Kimbarii."

Kagome hopped off her bed and was immediately hugged by her roommate. She automatically stiffened and chastised herself.

You aren't home! You're in a brand new place.

She said, "I'm Kagome," and relaxed into the embrace.

"And we're Kimbarii's parents," uttered a deep voice at the front of the room. She felt their eyes disapprovingly analyze the mess her clippings made on the floor.

Kagome pulled away and winced. Shit, she forgot about the family. She sucked at meeting new people.

...

Kagome sat on her bed, listening to her roommate's story about the ride over.

"Anyway, the rest of the floor's moved in, too! Or at least our side has. I met some of the girls already coming up, they're all really nice!" Kimbarii rapidly spoke while putting her clothes away into the drawers beneath the bed.

Her sunglasses fell as she bent down to retrieve even more clothes from her suitcase. Kagome immediately hopped off her bed and picked them up for her. But before she placed it on the other bed, she noticed the crystallized, intertwining Cs. Her eyes boggled for a moment.

Chanel? Kimbarii has Chanel shades?

"Cute, aren't they? But I knocked some of the Swarovski crystals out. Ugh, they just don't sit well on my head," Kimbarii said nonchalantly, continuing to put her things away.

Kagome nodded as if that was normal. "Yeah, I hate dropping my sunglasses, too." Only hers were from the generic corner store by her house that sold simple aviators.

A knock on their open door interrupted Kagome's dismal thoughts. A pair of blonde girls stood just outside the doorway.

"Hi, we're from down the hall. I'm Riian and this is Mishiru," the taller one said.

"You guys can call me Mishi," chirped the shorter one. "Everyone calls me that."

"It's nice to meet you Riian, Mishi. I'm Kimbarii but everyone calls me Kim."

Kagome turned and looked at her roommate. She had been calling her by Kimbarii the entire past hour. That whole time, Kimbarii never mentioned anything about a nickname. Kagome found it disheartening, and then felt like an idiot. She had just met Kimbarii. Give the girl a break!

She then noticed how quiet the room was. All eyes were on her.

"Uh, I'm Kagome," she said slowly, her face heating up. They were waiting for her introduction the entire time she was brooding over such a stupid, little thing. She felt like smacking her. Failed meeting # 3.

Riian smiled, but she noticed Mishiru staring at her.

"Have we met before?" Mishi asked.

Kagome's embarrassment quickly turned into panic.

Crap. Crap. She wasn't expecting this already. On the very first morning, too!

"Uh…I…doubt it. You…probably have me confused for…someone else," she responded and sighed to herself. They all probably thought she had some sort of a speech problem.

Mishi frowned. "I feel like I've seen you somewhere before though…"

Kagome froze, cold sweat breaking out on her forehead.

"…but you're probably right. Geez, I'm going crazy on the first day already when classes haven't even started! Imagine how I'll be like during finals week!"

All the girls laughed. Kagome chuckled and wiped her face.

That was close.

* * *

**A/N**: Sorry it took so long for the second chapter. I've been back at school for two weeks already getting drowned in snow, readings, and syllabuses. I'm going to try and update on a weekly basis.

Next chapter: Why Kim's a "loose girl".


	3. Loose Girls & Strange Guys Galore

**Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own Inuyasha.**

**Best 4 Years?**

**Ch. 3 – "Loose Girls" & Strange Guys Galore**

**

* * *

**

_SWEET DREAMS ARE MADE OF THIS, WHO AM I TO DISAGREE?_

Kagome jumped up from her bed and wildly patted her chest, expecting to find an empty cavity where her heart once resided. But thankfully it was still in there, beating faster than ever.

"Morning! I hope I didn't wake you," Kim chirped and turned her alarm off. She sprung out of bed and immediately pulled out a flat iron, straightening sections of her hair like a professional.

"No, I'm fine," the other girl managed to gasp. "I-I should be awake anyway. I have psychology at 8."

"No way! I have it too! We should've totally compared schedules yesterday."

Kagome grimaced at the cheerfulness that radiated off of Kim in waves. It was only 6:30 in the morning. There was no way, absolutely _no way_ every morning would be like this. If Kim truly valued her phone, she was going to have to change the alarm into something much less alarming for Kagome's sanity. If not, she could pretty much kiss it goodbye.

.-.-.-.

Just an hour and a half later, Kagome experienced a change of heart.

"I'm glad we woke up so early," she gushed, turning to smile at her roommate.

Aside from a few other students and the professor, they were the only two present in the large lecture hall. She was able to scope out who she knew as they walked through the door, and whenever she saw someone from high school, she promptly turned her face away from their searching eyes. She had no desire whatsoever to reconnect with old classmates.

"Yeah, me too," Kim replied, scanning the incoming students as well. "Oh yeah, Riian and Mishi have this class! But they were still getting ready when I texted them, so we have to save seats."

The doubtful, insecure questions once again invaded Kagome's mind. _Kim compared schedules with them already? That must've been yesterday. None of them asked me though…. Ah, snap out of it!_

Oblivious to Kagome's silence, Kim continued. "I totally get that you're in a sports club and you didn't have much time or energy to meet the rest of the floor yesterday, but we're all grabbing dinner tonight. You should come!"

Kagome slightly winced but smiled. She noticed the crowded hallway last night, but was too tired to summon the energy and spirit needed to meet a whole new floor of people. "That sounds great."

.-.-.

She swung open her door and sunk gratefully into her desk chair, dropping her yellow backpack on the floor. Despite having hour-long gaps between her four classes on Mondays, the breaks weren't enough for Kagome to register the amount of work her professors expected students to complete in 14 short weeks.

The raven-haired girl sighed. What else could one expect from college? She set face stoically and began unpacking her bag. After all, she was Kagome Higurashi. And Kagome Higurashi never lets anything defeat her.

Well, almost anything at least.

Before opening her books, she logged onto her university email. There were quite a few about various new clubs and organizations that just started and were open to new members. However one in particular caught her eye.

From: UTama Archery / Subject: EMERGENCY MEETING TONIGHT

She grimaced. Just great.

.-.-.

Kagome entered her room later that night with a packet from the meeting. She couldn't believe her first competition was this weekend. That meant she only had four days to practice.

She closed her eyes and sank into her chair again. This couldn't be happening.

"Too bad you missed the floor dinner," Kim said.

Kagome jumped. She was so deep in her thoughts; she hadn't even noticed the other girl.

"Yeah, I'm sorry again. You got my text, right?"

Kim nodded from her bed, casually browsing their introduction to psychology book. "Mhm, I got it. But like I said, it's too bad you missed dinner."

"What was so fabulous about dinner?" Kagome asked, regretting how sarcastic she sounded. It was a long day, but her nerves were no reason to treat Kim anything but friendly.

Oblivious to the sarcasm, the brunette smile, lay down the book, and rolled over to look at Kagome.

"Inuyasha."

Kagome stared. Was she supposed to be in awe? "What?"

"Inuyasha! He's the hottest guy on this floor, and I bet even in this building!" Kim gushed.

Kagome smiled. There was nothing like having a bonding moment over gossiping about cute guys.

.-.-.

It was the end of the first week of school, and she still hadn't seen this "Inuyasha" person. In fact, Kagome hadn't seen anyone that remotely resembled the "guy with the most gorgeous, amber eyes and silver hair" Kim spoke about.

Though the population at Tama U was pretty mixed between demons and humans, the demons still clearly stood out. And the majority had dark hair and red eyes. Kagome would definitely have remembered seeing anyone remotely like Inuyasha around.

She walked through her building entrance, intent on perusing through the packet the committee board handed out during the emergency meeting. Unfortunately she was met by utter chaos.

Riian and Mishi were in the middle of the room, digging through a pile of Kim's clothes. Meanwhile, Kim was kneeling at her closet and searching through a box full of shoes.

"Um, hey guys," Kagome greeted, wondering what the hell they were doing.

Kim looked up at her and smiled. "Hey, we're going out tonight, wanna come with?"

Before Kagome could answer, Kim continued talking. "We're actually gonna be walking the rape trail towards the apartments off campus! It's gonna be so much fun, I'm excited. Plus it's a three day weekend anyway, so we have an extra day to relax and do whatever."

The pair paused from their search and grinned before continuing.

Kagome shook her head, feeling genuinely sorry this time. Was archery always going to get in the way of any attempts on her social life?

"I can't, I have a last-minute training session and I have to wake up early tomorrow for the bus ride to the competition."

Kim turned and buried her face into her shoes, rendering Kagome unable to read her face. "Oh yeah. I'll try and be quiet when I get back tonight."

Kagome felt guilty. She knew Kim tried reaching out to her multiple times, but aside from seeing each other in their room and having psychology class three times a week, they didn't have time to establish a bond. Archery was only making things worse.

"What about Saturday?" Kagome suggested, feeling like a genius. "What are you guys doing Saturday night?"

Kim looked up at the blonde girls, who only shrugged in response. "Actually, we didn't think about Saturday. If tonight goes well, we can always go back to the same place tomorrow!"

The atmosphere in the room brightened considerably. Kagome spent the rest of her time judging on outfits and scanning through the packet as much as she could before emergency practice.

Things were beginning to look up.

.-.-.

_BAM!_

The door slammed open, jarring Kagome awake. Loud laughter followed, along with the sound of several people stumbling into the room. One of them flicked the overhead light on.

Kagome held in a squeal of frustration. Seriously? All she wanted was to sleep. If she couldn't sleep in, then could she at least just fall asleep peacefully? Shit!

She rose out of bed, thankful she kept her bra on underneath her t-shirt, and faked an incoherent face, rubbing her eyes sleepily. Her clock blinked 01:00.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry Kagome!" Kim stuttered and drunkenly headed over to her bed. "I didn't mean to wake you!"

Kagome shook her head. "It's okay." She looked past the brunette and warily eyed the three guys hanging around the doorway.

Three? Wow.

"Oh yeah, this is Mizuno, Kuchiki, and Ryo. Guys this is my roommate, Kagome."

They exchanged polite greetings and stood around, looking at everything but her. Kagome couldn't help but notice the guys were not anywhere near as intoxicated as Kim was. Her instincts warned her to not leave Kim alone, but they were dashed after Riian and Mishi stumbled past the trio into her room.

Wordlessly, they pulled two of the three boys away, leaving one alone. Kagome couldn't recall who he was already. She assumed it was irrelevant, and she'd probably never see him again.

Kim walked closer to Kagome and whispered, "Mind if you leave us alone for a bit? I just want to talk to him in private, we were talking about something important but then Mizu and Ryo interrupted us."

The raven haired girl complied immediately. The situation in the room was getting more awkward by the minute, and all she wanted was out. Kagome grabbed her quilt, phone, and keys before leaving.

She regretted it once the door shut behind her. She had met a few people on the floor, but the only ones she actually had conversations with were Riian and Mishi. Judging from the low sounds coming from their end of the hallway, Kagome decided they were the last ones she would go to in search of refuge.

She slumped against the wall, and decided the study lounge was her best bet. But before she could head down the stairs, the boys' bathroom door swung open.

"Got kicked out, huh?"

Startled, she flinched and swung around to face a boy she had never seen before. He had brown eyes and black hair, much like herself, but he was of a much more built stature.

"Yeah," Kagome muttered, eyeing him. She noticed his polka dotted boxers and started giggling.

He cocked his eyebrows. "What's so funny? You're the one who got kicked out by a selfish roommate, not me."

She stopped and glared. "For your information, I do have a room to go to. In fact, I was headed there right before you stopped me."

The dark haired boy rolled his eyes. "Please, like the study lounge is a great choice." He stopped, noticing how deflated she became, and a wave of guilt hit him. "Why don't you just come into my room? My roommate's gone, he went home for the weekend. You can just hang in there until your roommate's finished…with her needs."

Kagome snorted, but decided to go with him. She had a higher chance of knowing when Kim would be done by staying on the same floor instead of going downstairs.

As they approached his door halfway down the hall, she introduced herself. "I'm Kagome by the way," she said, feeling weird they didn't go through the proper introductions.

They reached his door, which boasted the name tags of "Miroku" and "Inuyasha". Wait, Inuyasha?

"You live with Inuyasha?" she gasped upon reading the names.

* * *

**A/N- **Sorry about the delay! I know I promised to update on a weekly basis, but I don't think it's going to happen. My workload this semester definitely isn't going to let me slack off much. I will keep at this though, because I promised myself I can't start writing about any of my other ideas until I finish this one.

To anyone who's wondering, yes my freshman year roommate did come back with three guys in one night during a three day weekend. There was no "Mishi or Riian" to take away the other two. I actually left the room with all three guys in there. Needless to say, it cemented my opinion of her from the start.

Anyway, next chapter: why Kagome will never get any sleep and exactly who this guy is, Miroku or Inuyasha?


End file.
